Heists? Burning stones? 5 incredible facts about this $31.8m rare blue rock

Another blue diamond has hit the auction block, but this particular rock has far more to show off than its $31.8 million price tag. Dubbed the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, the stone is what diamond expert Tobias Kormind of 77 Diamonds describes as a “once in a lifetime” market shift in the industry, where auctions of blue diamonds are breaking records, one after the other.

The "Aurora Green" is the largest Fancy Vivid green diamond ever sold at auction. The stone went under the hammer on May 31, 2016 at Christie's auction house in Hong Kong, selling for $16,818,983.

The world's largest blue diamond, an extremely rare gem known as "The Oppenheimer Blue", sold for $57.5 million at Christie's Geneva May 18, 2016, making it the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction.

The 14.62 carat Fancy Vivid stone is mounted on a platinum ring and flanked on either side by a trapeze-shaped diamond.

'The Unique Pink' is the largest Fancy Vivid pink pear-shaped diamond to ever be offered at auction.

The diamond was sold for $31.6 million by Sotheby's, at an auction in Geneva. The price makes it the most expensive Fancy Vivid pink diamond to sell at auction.

Cubic zirconia replicas of the original and a modern cut of the Kohinoor diamond, one of the oldest and most famous diamonds in the world.

The De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 has broken auction records in Asia.

The stone sold for $31.8 million, which makes it the most expensive piece of jewelry sold at an auction in Asia.

Sotheby's auctioned this 9.54 carat ring it says belonged to child star Shirley Temple on April 19, 2016. Though it was expected to fetch between $25 million and $35 million, it failed to sell.

This 12.03-carat blue diamond fetched $48.4 million at auction on November 11, 2015. It was previously the world's most expensive price-per-carat diamond sold.

The fancy, vivid blue diamond was discovered in South Africa in January last year.

In recent years, other high-value diamonds have hit the auction block. The 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond known as "The Pink Star," went for $80 million at a 2013 Sotheby's auction. However, after the buyer defaulted on payment, it was returned to Sotheby's.

This 118.28 oval white diamond became the largest sold at auction when it went for $30.6 million at a Sotheby's auction in 2013.

In April 2015, a 100-carat, emerald cut, D color, internally flawless diamond -- the largest of its clarity and cut to ever be shown at auction -- sold for $22 million.

The 76.02-carat 400-year-old Archduke Joseph diamond set a new record for price per carat for a colorless diamond in 2012, when it sold for $21.5 million at a Christie's auction.

In 2010, Hong Kong's largest jewelry retailer, Chow Tai Fook, bought one of the world's largest rough diamonds for $35.3 million.

Jeweler Wallace Chan and a team of craftsman worked 47,000 hours to transform the stone it into this piece, which Chai Tai Fook estimates could be worth $200 million.

A look at some of the world's most famous diamonds

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The 10.10 carat rock went under the hammer Tuesday at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, but has already clinched the title of largest Oval Fancy Vivid blue diamond to appear at auction.

Having sold at $31.8 million it has broken the record for most expensive diamond sold in Asia. Here are five things you might not know about this diamond.

1. It was part of the biggest diamond heist in history… almost

This stone was first unveiled in London in 2000 as part of the Millenium Jewels exhibition, where it caught the attention of a local gang of robbers. An attempted robbery ensued, which was foiled by the Metropolitan Police.

If the robbery had been successful, the thieves would have made off with $300 million worth of stones in total, which would have made it the biggest diamond heist in history.

“The attempted heist was incredibly professional,” says Kormind. “The robbers had figured out how to weaken the protective glass and had an escape route planned along the river. They likely would have gotten away with it if the Metropolitan Police were not given an anonymous tip, which allowed them to prepare for the heist in advance.”

2. The industry is ‘obsessed’ with blue diamonds

In November last year, a 12.03 carat fancy vivid blue diamond named Blue Moon sold for a whopping $48.4 million, making it the most expensive diamond to have ever sold at an auction.

According to Kormind, this record-breaking sale kick-started an industry-wide obsession with blue diamonds, pushing collectors to release more of these blue stones to the auction market than ever.

A diamond belonging to actress Shirley Temple will auction later this month, and the Oppenheimer Blue (a 14.62 carat stone that will be the largest Vivid Blue diamond to ever appear at auction) will go under the hammer in May.

“The majority of these stones are traded on the private market and previously only a handful had ever come to auction. What we’re witnessing is a once in a lifetime series of events – I don’t think we’ll ever see a moment in time like this again.”

3. It’s pricey because of its color

Fancy colored diamonds are already rare, but some colors are more desirable than others.

“Red is the rarest diamond color as there are only around 100 known recorded red diamonds in the world. Blue comes in as a close second,” Kormind explains.

“Yellow diamonds also hold tremendous value, but a few years ago, several mines with yellow diamonds were discovered and their rarity was reduced. The yellow diamond never quite recovered. Brown and gray diamonds are the most common, and therefore least valuable on the spectrum.”

4. Auctioneers have been careful not to ‘burn’ this stone

What do you do with one of the world's largest rough diamonds? —

You chip away at it -- for some 47,000 man hours, and then turn it into one lavish neckpiece, featuring 11,551 diamonds.

Diamond in the rough —

The rock, named the Cullinan Heritage, was discovered in 2009 at the Cullinan Diamond Mine in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The mine is where the majority of the world's most famous diamonds have been discovered. The stats? It's a 507.55-carat Type IIA rough diamond, coveted for its extreme clarity and flawless quality.

A cool $35 million —

In 2010, Hong Kong's largest jeweler, Chow Tai Fook, acquired the Cullinan Heritage. The company successfully bid $35.3 million for the 507-carat rock. It's the highest sale price ever achieved for a rough diamond.

A sparkly little family —

Chow Tai Fook cut the Cullinan Heritage into a family of 24 smaller D color, internally flawless diamonds. The process of achieving a technically perfect cut and polish lasted three years.  

Chow Tai Fook collaborated with master jewerly designer Wallace Chan —

In 2014, Chow Tai Fook invited jewelry designer Wallace Chan to unite the diamonds into one single piece of jewelry. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Chan says of the collaboration.

It's all in the details —

The design process took a team of 22 people and 47,000 hours to make.

Many shapes and sizes —

"It was challenging -- all 24 of the small diamonds came in many different shapes. I had to find a way to achieve optical balance," Wallace recalls. "You'll notice I juxtaposed all the marquise-shaped diamonds on one side and all the pear-shaped diamonds on the other side."

Trial and error —

Chan says many experiments in design were required to create the final piece. One particular 104-carat diamond stood out. "It reminded me of a European church I had visited many years ago. I was attracted by the ceiling of the church because I felt its energy going upwards, almost pulling me up to the dome," recalls Chan. "I felt it again when I saw the petals of the light in the stone -- the infinite reflections of light. It bloomed in my heart like a flower of my dreams. And it inspired the necklace's design." The piece was later named "A Heritage in Bloom."

Defying gravity —

"Gravity was one of the challenges I faced designing the necklace," Chan says. "The necklace would get pulled by the weight of the stones and the structure. I had to fight gravity and find the perfect proportion for each style. It took repeated experiments."

Bling bling bling —

Chan also incorporated hundreds of mutton fat white jade beads and green jadeite, 598 pink diamonds and 10,953 white diamonds, in addition to the 24 main diamonds from the Cullinan Heritage, in the final piece.

Shades of jade —

"The mutton fat white jade beads are like the shape of prayer beads," Chan says. "I think of prayers beads as something that transcends cultures and religions."

Invisible connection —

"I polished the mutton fat white jade beads to perfect roundness, hollowed them out, and placed titanium parts so they could be connected throughout the piece invisibly," Chan explains.

When East meets West —

"I set a diamond inside each bead so the humility and the smoothness of jade - a symbol of the East, embraces the power and sparkles of the diamond - a long celebrated love of the West," Chan says.

Fluttery symbolism —

Chan felt it was important to have strong symbolism running throughout the piece. "I placed butterflies and bats on the necklace. Butterflies stand for everlasting love in Chinese culture, and bats symbolize happiness."

The perfect color combination —

"The green jadeite and pink diamonds are used to bring the piece to life. It took a long time to hand pick the right color and quality of jadeite," Chan recalls.

"A Heritage in Bloom" —

The final piece is uniquely modular and can be worn in 27 different ways. The number is significantly rooted in the Chinese concept of eternity. 27 is the cube of 3, which represents infinity in Chinese culture.

An easy wear —

This is another way to wear the necklace. Chan says the necklace feels almost weightless.

Transforming a masterpiece —

When Chan first began to design the necklace, he didn't think about it being worn 27 different ways. "I had just wanted it to be worn in 5 ways but got carried away. I am happy with the result."

Chow Tai Fook estimates that the market would conservatively value all the finished materials united in "A Heritage in Bloom" at $200 million. The jeweler says it has no immediate plans to sell it.

Trace the journey of one of the world's rarest and largest diamonds

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The value of a rock can be increased or decreased depending on its treatment and reception during an auction.

A stone that is “too known,” says Kormind, can develop a tarnished reputation and a stigma that it is unwanted.

“A desperation to sell a diamond decreases its value. If it’s being pushed too hard and is still not well received, we call this ‘burning the stone.’ People begin to wonder, ‘What’s wrong with it?’ and ‘Why hasn’t it sold?’”

5. ‘Vivid’ and ‘Fancy’ are more than just adjectives

The De Beers Millennium Jewel 4 is described as a “Fancy Vivid blue” diamond, but these are more than just adjectives – the terminology is used as part of a color grading system that alerts diamond experts of the tremendous value of this rock.

“It allows us to differentiate the value of one blue diamond from another,” says Kormind. “The range extends from Light blue, to Fancy Light blue, to Fancy Intense blue and so on.”

“A Fancy Vivid blue is particularly special, it describes the highest possible color rating for this diamond.”